Wednesday, July 27, 2011

As I alluded to a while back, my boyfriend and I took the big leap and moved in together. Since then I have learned a number of things. Right off the bat, I learned Lesson #1, you must compromise.

Both him and I come from families with similar morals and principles, however, we were raised in two totally different households. Both of our parents raised us in very different ways. For example, in my house canned goods and such go in a pantry, in his house they go in a cupboard next to the cups; in my house we washed the dishes by hand, in his house they use the dish washer; and in my house we made dinner at home every night, in his house they often ate out.

So how have we compromise?

1.) I gave up my dream pantry for a "utility closet" that he insisted he needed for all of his tools. While the pantry food was put into one of the cupboards.

In his defense the "utility closet" is being put to good use. Having the food in the same cupboard as the glasses still bothers me, because I like to have things organized and separated... I just avoid the situation and only open one side of the cupboard at a time.

2.) Decorations in the house we did together, so we both liked the look of the apartment.

3.) He got rid of his 10 year old futon and other bachelor-ish things, and I got rid of a lot of excess stuff (ie: clothes, kitchen items,etc.) that was unnecessary. (This stuff is not pictured, because it's gone!!)

4.) We try to make as many meals at home as we can, but we allow for going out for dinner for nights like trivia or when we have special dinner plans with our parents or friends. We don't really go out to eat just the two of us, there is usually a reason.

Morale of the story, whether you're moving in together, getting married, just starting to date or whatever the situation might be, you have to pick and choose which "fights" you want to fight. In other words, if it's not something you feel incredibly strongly about it, don't ruin a relationship over it... compromise!

Have you had a similar experience? What did you do?

Eats
Now that I am working two jobs (my internship and my new part time job) I find myself a lot more busy and having to pack lunches. During the school year I used to pack my lunches for work all the time, however, since I moved here all the food that we have bought has not been very "lunchable", if you will. Most of the foods we have around are foods that take come time to prep, which wouldn't be an issue if I didn't work over all the meal times (lunch, dinner). When I get home at like 3 or 8 pm, which happens most days, it is at an odd hour where I either don't have time before heading to my other job, or it's too late to sit down and make a nice meal. Needless to say, although I appreciate my boyfriend doing the shopping, I think I need to go so that I can pick up foods that I can pack for quick eats between shifts and at work. As you will see, my eats are all over the place for the previously mentioned reasons, but I plan to make them better for next week...

Where the heck are my veggies?! My diet is so out of wack right now, I cannot wait to get it back on track! How do you deal with being super busy and packing meals on a daily basis?

Fitness
5 mile run in 47 minutes

Today's run felt pretty good, I was tired by the end, but I probably could've kept going at a slower pace. I ran my first 3 miles at a steady 9:13/mile pace, for the last 2 miles I ran that pace for :40 and then ran at a 8:53/mile pace for :20. The constant fluctuation kept the last chunk of my workout interesting. What was your workout today?

Monday, July 25, 2011

Tis' the season... the wedding season that is! I spent the weekend in Green Bay this weekend helping one of my girlfriends find the wedding dress of her dreams. Lucky for me, she made it really easy! It only took us an hour and a half to find that dress, a dress she has had her eyes set on for some time now.

After dress shopping we all headed over to Good Company for some chow.

Good Company is a great restaurant! This was the first time I had ever been there, but I was a big fan. This place caters to all taste buds... they've got Italian, Mexican, burgers, pizza, salads, etc. Naturally, I opted for a fajita salad since I like my food spicy. The salad was enormous and did not disappoint!

This isn't exactly it, but this is the style. This is much larger than anything I would ever want get. Don't worry, I dropped some hints for the BF :) What style of a ring do you have or dream of?

Fitness Plan

This week's plan looks like this...

Monday: 5 mile run

Tuesday: Lift * 25 min cardio

Wednesday: 5 mile run

Thursday: Lift * 2 basketball games

Friday: 6 mile run

Saturday: Lift

My new fitness goal is to try to incorporate at least one light workout in on the weekends. I have been absolutely horrible about this, so I'm working to improve it. I also want to work more on the foam roller and thera cane.

One of my friends brought her personal thera cane in to work, so I will have access to it for the next week before she moves away. I would love to get a foam roller and thera cane of my own... put it on wish list I guess. My lower back has been really bothering me lately, so I am hoping that some extra treatment can help solve or minimize that problem! Any other suggestions to help ease lower back pain?

Friday, July 22, 2011

A friend of mine sent this to me and I had to share it with you, because it is the world's cutest proposal!!!

I bet my boyfriend hates that I ever laid eyes on this video! What is your proposal story? Have you encountered or heard of any other great proposals?

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After work today I am heading out of town to see one of my amazing friends in Green Bay! She is getting married and asked me to be in her wedding, so this is the weekend we are looking for dresses! I am super excited to see her, meet the other bridesmaids and of course look at gorgeous dresses. Keep an eye out for an update next week!

Fitness

Yesterday's lift (all are 4 x 10):

Deadlifts

T-bar

T-bar press

Inclined DB press

KB plank row

SB hamstring curl

DB snatch

Recovery steps (working on running form)

I also played in two basketball games, which our team got physically beat up on by the youngsters! I feel like I got run over by a train, too bad I don't have time to get that free massage today!

Today I am going for a short run. I know right now I won't be following the fitness plan for today. I could've and should've gotten up and run earlier this morning, but my body was just not moving too fast. We only have a few weeks left of basketball, but I think I might have to switch my longs runs to either Saturday or another day during the week, because it is tough to play afternoon games and turn around and run a long run the next morning.

Thursday, July 21, 2011

Ever have one of those days that is just too busy to squeeze a workout in or at least not a workout you consider to be a great one? Well I have 10 very practical ways for you to burn calories doing everyday things... you just need to be conscious of them!

1. Walk, don't ride. Taking the stairs instead of the elevator burns 1 calorie every 5 steps. On average a flight of stairs is 15 steps, those who choose to take the stairs instead of the elevator (up and down 3 flights a day) can lose 8 pounds in a year! Enough said.

2. Carry the goods. By carrying a hand basket at the grocery store instead of pushing a cart you can burn more calories, exercise those arms and possibly limit your purchases to healthy foods (they generally weight less than all those canned, processed foods).

3. Double you rewards. Consider planting a garden if you don't already have one. All of the standing, stooping, kneeling and weeding can burn more than 300 calories an hour, plus you get a ton of fresh veggies!

4. Hit the pavement over lunch. Taking an extended walk over your lunch hour will not only burn calories, but it will help suppress your appetite, therefore reducing your overall level of caloric intake.

5. Travel smart. There are a number of things you can do while traveling that will go the extra mile for weight loss and maintenance. For example, when flying always walk to your departure gate, don't use a cart; when waiting for your plane, walk around the terminal instead of sitting down; and when staying at a hotel, take advantage of the workout facilities.

6. Take a stand. Standing burns more calories than sitting does. Try for at least a few minutes every hour to stand if you would otherwise be sitting. Try blogging from a high top counter/table instead of sitting at your desk or kitchen table.

7. Get some face time. Deliver messages by hand when at work rather than emailing or calling. Getting up to hand-deliver messages will burn calories and enhance blood flow throughout your body.

8. Play with you pet. Those who play with their pets will burn off a few extra calories and provide some exercise for their pet.

10. You Granny had it right. In some cases avoiding labor-saving devices such as dishwashers and blenders can help you burn those extra calories. Grandma was right when she refused to use an electronic mixer, doing it by hand will get the extra burn.

Tips provided by James A. Peterson, Ph. D.

Today is a very busy day for me, fortunately I was able to schedule in my workouts, but that doesn't mean I won't be sneaking in some of these tips. Do you use any of these tips?

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In other news, I finally found myself a paid part-time job! My internship that I am working right now, does not pay, so I have been frantically searching for a part-time job and things finally fell into place! My new place of employment is the YMCA! I will be doing a wide variety of things including:

I am super excited to get going on this job, because it offers such a wide variety of responsibilities and it will be a good challenge. The only thing I am nervous about is the lack of direction in this position. Since this position I am in is a new one, it is going to be a lot of trial and error. I, personally, do a lot better with structure, but this will be good for me! It will help me grow as a professional!

Fitness
My workout today will consist of lifting and playing in two basketball games. I'm bummed our league is coming to an end, I think we only have two weeks left after this week :( I will post what my lifting workout was later, I don't remember what it is off the top of my head, but it is at work.

Wednesday, July 20, 2011

Today's planned 5 mile run, turned into a 4.12 mile run, after realizing I could not beat the 85 degree heat this morning at 7:45. In fact it was so hot that I took my shirt off for the last mile of the run... this is something I have never done before! It may, however, be something I do a little more often, it feels so liberating and cool!

The run took my 42: 20... not my fastest, but I thought my pace was way slower than this while I was chugging along.

Mmmm Food

Yesterday I made a homemade version of hot pockets (or what I like to call hot pockets)! These are the most wonderful tasting things in the world... major comfort food. I do not recommend these if you are trying to lose weight, because they are a little higher in the calorie count, but they are a nice treat to have every now and again!

What you'll need for hot pockets:

1 green pepper, diced

1/4-1/2 onion (any color will do)

1 chunk of broccoli

2 chicken breasts

1 small can cream of chicken/mushroom/celery (whatever you prefer)

1 can crescent rolls

and any other add-ins you'd like to have

Fully cook the chicken breasts and cut up all veggies and chicken and put in a large bowl. Dump the cream of chicken soup into the bowl and mix with other ingredients. Mix until all veggies and chicken are fully coated.

Lay the crescent rolls out flat on a baking sheet and scoop some chicken/veggie mix onto each of the rolls. Join the four corners of each individual roll and enclose the veggie mix into the crescent roll.

Bake at 350 degrees for as long as your crescent rolls call for, mine was 12-15 minutes. This recipe makes four large hot pockets. I had some leftover veggie mix, so I saved it for a wrap the next day! The ingredients in this recipe can be altered to your taste. In fact I think next time I am going to try making some BBQ chicken hot pockets!

Other eats today were Captain Crunch for breakfast, carrots with hummus and a fruit/spinach smoothie for lunch, and some cheese for a snack. I'm debating what to make for dinner tonight, but I am leaning towards stir fry!

Massage Therapy

I found out yesterday that I am the luckiest girl in the world! What is it that I found out? Through my internship I get a free 15 minute massage and one free 60 minute massage with the new massage therapy business that opened up in our building! I had my 15 minute massage today and it felt phenomenal! The masseuse loosened up my lower back and found really bad tightness in my feet. He didn't work on my feet until the end of my massage, so it was a little bit of a teaser for next time. I'm thinking I will plan my 60 minute massage for early August, so I can beat up on my body in the gym a little more before he loosens me up again. I can't wait to run on new feet and a fresh back in a few weeks!

Tuesday, July 19, 2011

This weekend I went to the most beautiful, romantic wedding I have ever been to!

The wedding was held outdoors. The night before it poured like crazy, they got seven inches of rain, but it cleared up for the wedding day... by clear up I mean 90 degrees with 100% humidity (it's been like that the past four days, we're under a heat advisory). Since it was really hot, it was hard for anyone to drink anything but water really, but the reception was still a blast. During the ceremony the groom had a little surprise for everyone! He sang his new bride a beautiful song. I wish I would've known about it, I would have video recorded it... so darn romantic! Al

My man was an usher in the wedding.

The wedding colors were orange and navy blue, which really looked awesome together!

Seriously everything about this couple and their wedding was so magical and romantic to me, I teared up about 10 times during the ceremony and reception. I hope my wedding will be as romantic as theirs someday!

Today's lift included a number of "fun" lifts... 4 sets of 10 for most

Step ups (20 inch box)
Tube chest fly

Lever twist
20 inch box jumps

Lunges
Bicep curls

Pushup/piston
A-skip

Life
Life has been very busy lately with my new internship, job searching and trying to find time to spend with family and my boyfriend. I am currently also having issues with my computer again. It has been very temperamental lately, grr! Still taking computer suggestions! Anyway, I did manage to find a little time yesterday for my two favorite kidlets :)

Thursday, July 14, 2011

Although I am more of a country fan, I can definitely still appreciate meeting anyone with as much musical talent as Kid Rock's drummer Stefanie Eulinberg!

On our way back to our apartment tonight we drove past a hotel/restaurant (Holiday Inn - Green Mill) and saw 5 big charter buses sitting in the hotel lot. My man instantly knew it was one of the bands playing at Rock Fest this weekend just outside of Eau Claire. He loves Kid Rock and so he was super happy to get to meet her! Unfortunately Kid Rock was not eating with her in the restaurant when we stopped in to have some dessert. Stefanie was a very genuinely, nice lady! Don't mind my outfit... I came straight from my basketball games and looked like the rainbow tonight.

Eats

Remember how I told you I was super excited for my breakfast this morning?! Well, my creation did not disappoint!

So what were those secret ingredients? Fat-free chocolate pudding and hazelnut coffee creamer! The hazelnut creamer is the real kicker of the meal! I think that may begin to take place of regular milk occasionally in my over night oats! May even be a decent alternative for my smoothies when I run out of milk. Ahh the possibilities are endless! What is your favorite secret breakfast ingredient?

Other eats are a delicious peach, a veggies sub from Erbs and Gerbs (I tried the new Cally... Mac approved), a cheese burger and sweet potato fries, left over lasagna and a couple of brewskis post-basketball game... We have to re-fuel ourselves ;) This may become a weekly occurrence after our games to grab a bite to eat and shoot the breeze.... I'm alright with that :)

Fitness

2 basketball games

Strength Training:

Bag squats on a tire 2 x 10

Kayak 2 x 10 each side

Quick Six (2 x 10)- overhead press, biceps curl, chest fly, bench press, row, pullovers... all are done with DB on a SB as a circuit

Wednesday, July 13, 2011

For those of you who remember I took on a challenge, Mission: Simply Water, at the beginning of the month. So far I have been doing pretty well. I don't always necessarily drink two full bottles, just because I am running around more often, but I drink one full one at home and fill my own regular sized water bottle up a number of times throughout the day. Even though I am eyeballing it, I think it is pretty close to two full sized bottles. Mission accomplished... now I just need to keep it up! How are you doing on the challenge if you took it on?

On another note, I am extremely excited for breakfast tomorrow! I added something new to my overnight oats and I think it's going to be great! I am not going to reveal my secret ingredient until tomorrow though... hopefully it tastes as great as I am anticipating :)

I can tell with my lifting more frequently that my legs aren't quite used to running like they used to be. I am hoping over the next couple of weeks that they will get used to lifting and running together more often, because I love both so much and it's hard not to lift more with my internship. Any tips on how to adjust to maintaining your running mileage while upping your strength training?

Off to bed, I have a client tomorrow morning for my internship at 6 bells sharp! Hope everyone had a wonderful day!

Saturday, July 9, 2011

Some of you may know I have been in and out of blogging this past week and a half, the reason being twofold: I moved and I started my internship. :)

I mentioned it a few times that I was moving from La Crosse back to Eau Claire where my family and boyfriend are, and it finally happened on Wednesday. I wasn't planning on moving quite that early, I actually expected to be in La Crosse for another week, but my internship start date pushed my plans up a little. Here's a sneak peak of my new place (more pictures to come once things are in place)...

Excited about the desk since I didn't have one before

What you might not have known was that I was moving in with my boyfriend. I didn't really advertise this, because I wanted to wait until it happened, but I guess now it's out! It has been fun, yet challenging (which I'm thinking of doing a series on) moving in with him.

Internship

Today was day two at my internship... I can tell already that I am going to LOVE it! I got two shirts to wear as my uniform (the perk of being a trainer you don't have to dress up!).

Momentum Sport Fitness

Motto of my life

Momentum Sport Fitness

My new mantra

They have let me work with a couple clients on my own already, which is really cool that they trust me and my abilities to let me do that. There are a number of things that I love about this job/career move:

I get to meet new people and hear their stories

I'm learning a TON of new/unique lifts and conditioning drills (Momentum is all about unique, challenging training)

Getting to workout on the job

I get to use the gym for free = no membership fees for at least 6 months!

I work with athletes, people trying to lose weight and people looking for general fitness training

Tomorrow I will be spending my day in La Crosse cleaning my apartment and turning in my keys... blah! Looks like I'll be rocking out to some good tunes all day :)

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About Me

Hi! My name is Mackenzie, I am 25 years old. I am currently working towards my Masters degree in Human Performance! I love making new recipes, being outdoors and am just recently getting into running races!

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Disclaimer

Please remember that I am not a nutritionist or health specialist. I graduated with a Bachelors in Sport Management and will soon have a Masters in Human Performance, but am by no means a expert. Please consult a doctor before trying any of my tips or workouts. The items on my blog are things that work for me and things that I enjoy. Hope you can enjoy some of them too! If you have any questions, comments or concerns feel free to e-mail at myfoodevents@gmail.com. Thanks and come again!